Parking your car in Switzerland

Some parking spaces may be used for a maximum amount of time, and require a parking disc to show the arrival time.

Parking your car in Switzerland

Parking in smaller towns is mostly not a problem. Traffic can be complex in the city centers of larger towns. Streets are narrow, there's lots of traffic and lots of one way streets. Parking can be hard to find. There's a good alternative: drive to a nearby town or suburb and take the train from there.

Free parking

Free parking space can mostly be found in the smaller towns or suburbs, for example at shopping centers, hotel car parks (guests only) or just in the street. Sometimes there is a time limit and you may need to place a parking disc behind the windshield to show the time you parked. Such a disc can be obtained from gas stations. Rental cars should have a disc on board.

Paid parking

Paid parking is the norm in Switzerland, especially around popular places like rail stations, hotels and town centers. Even as a hotel guest, you often need to pay for parking separately (count on CHF 10 to 50 per day). Parking in the larger cities is quite expensive (up to CHF 4 per hour).

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